


i wanna love you (but i don't know if i can)

by beautifulbane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (they're both 18 so it's not underage everywhere but), Canon Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Secret Relationship, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 19:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11881221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulbane/pseuds/beautifulbane
Summary: So, of course, that was when Hunk had said, "You know, it's really good that we're all friends here. I feel like it always gets awkward when two people in a group start dating, you know?""Well, I don't think we have to worry about that with this group," Pidge had piped up, "I love you all, but there's no way in hell I'd date any of you."Everyone else had murmured their agreement, except for Lance and Keith, who had shared a look before trying to discreetly scoot away from the other.(Or, Lance and Keith decide to date in secret so their relationship doesn't make their teammates uncomfortable. It goes about as well as is to be expected.)





	i wanna love you (but i don't know if i can)

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! 
> 
> just a quick note before you start reading: i used ticks for seconds, doboshes for minutes, and vargas for hours since that's what the guidebook said the approximate time measurements were in the voltron universe. however, i still used terms such as day, week, and month, just because they're longer spans of time. hopefully that makes sense haha!
> 
> also: the title is from the song x & y by coldplay, it's one of my favorites!
> 
> i hope you enjoy the story <3

The thing about having a secret relationship is that you have to cherish every tick of alone time you get together.

Keith is the one who's still hesitant about sneaking into each other's rooms, claims it's too risky, but Lance has gotten good at convincing him otherwise. Namely, he's gotten better at the whole "making out" thing since they first started dating.

They're both curled up in Keith's bed at the moment, Lance straddling Keith's hips with their bare chests pressed together and Keith's hands moving experimentally down Lance's back. He lets out an appreciative noise against Lance's mouth at the smooth, warm skin he finds there, and Lance smirks, biting playfully at Keith's bottom lip.

"I thought we agreed that if we're going to do this, we have to be quiet," Lance whispers, and Keith leans in to kiss him again, like Lance is air and Keith can't breathe without him.

"I am quiet," Keith argues into Lance's mouth.

Lance's hands intertwine into the mess that is Keith's hair and he plays with it for a tick, enjoying the feeling of the soft strands running through his fingers, before he gives a sharp tug. Keith flat out moans.

"Right," Lance deadpans.

Keith glares at him and then he's flipping him over, so that Lance is the one whose back is on the bed and Keith is on top of him. Lance swallows thickly, trying not to show Keith how hot he thought that was.

"You're not playing fair," Keith tells him, and Lance knows by the look on his face that he's up to no good.

"What do you—" he starts, but is abruptly cut off by a warm mouth pressing against the sensitive skin of his throat.

Lance's mouth drops open as he lets out a surprised breath, immediately tilting his head to the side so that Keith can have better access. He knows that Keith is trying to get a rise out of him, so he stays quiet, but then Keith is biting down and...Lance lets out a deep moan, his hands tightening on Keith's shoulders.

"Who's the loud one now?" Keith breathes against his throat and Lance shivers, pushing him off of him so that he plops down noisily beside him.

"Shut up," Lance tells him, trying (and probably failing) to not sound affected. Keith honest-to-god pouts at him, his lips puckering and his eyes going wide, and Lance is only human, okay? He looks so adorable that Lance almost _has_  to kiss him again.

So he does. He wraps his arms around Keith's neck so there's practically no space between them and then presses their lips together, kissing him deeply. Keith seems to get the message and his own arms go to Lance's waist, holding him close as his hands splay on the skin of Lance's lower back, just above his ass. It's enough to have Lance shuddering in his arms.

The thing is, they never meant for their relationship to be kept a secret. They'd had every intention of telling the others when they first got together but, as the old ancient proverb goes, shit happens.

They'd been having their annual game night in the den, and everyone had been there, so Keith and Lance had figured it was the perfect time to tell them. They'd all been laughing at the fact that Shiro had been about to win the entire game, just for him to have to go all the way back to the start. His reaction of trying to remain calm while clearly being pissed had been hilarious, and Lance had thought, _now, now is the perfect time, they're all laughing and happy—_

So, of course, that was when Hunk had said, "You know, it's really good that we're all friends here. I feel like it always gets awkward when two people in a group start dating, you know?"

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about that with this group," Pidge had piped up, "I love you all, but there's no way in hell I'd date any of you."

Everyone else had murmured their agreement, except for Lance and Keith, who had shared a look before trying to discreetly scoot away from the other.

And that had been that.

It had been worrying at first, that they might have to break up if the rest of the team didn't want any relationships within the group, but then Lance had said they could always hide their relationship from the others, and now...here they are.

They're actually pretty good at hiding it, in Lance's opinion. It's been months and none of the other team members are even slightly suspicious of them.

It's this thought that brings Lance back to the present, because Keith is letting out these breathy little moans into his mouth as their kiss deepens and they should absolutely stop, because they're being too loud, but _god_  if that isn't the hottest sound that Lance has ever heard before.

"Hush," Lance whispers into Keith's mouth and then pulls away, taking in the sight of Keith in front of him. He's panting slightly from how heavily they'd been kissing, his cheeks flushed and his eyes dazed. He looks _really good._

"I can't help it," Keith tells him, "Feels good."

Lance feels himself go warm all the way down to his toes. _Damn it_ , Keith.

"You're ridiculous," Lance makes sure to tell him, his heart going all fluttery in his chest when Keith just smiles widely at him in response.

They're about to lean in again when suddenly Keith's door is opening and the next thing Lance knows he's being pushed off of Keith's bed with a loud thump. He holds back his groan and crawls under the bed right before whoever it is walks into Keith's room.

"Hey, Keith, are you alright? I was walking past your room a little while ago to get a snack and it sounded like you were running a marathon or something—"

It's Hunk. Lance holds back a snicker at his words.

"Oh, uh, y-yeah, I'm good! I was just, uh, having a nightmare. A bad one," Keith stammers.

Lance can imagine how flushed he probably is right now, and smiles deviously to himself.

"Ah, gotcha. Those are the worst. Hopefully you can get some sleep now that you're out of it!" Hunk tells him.

"Yeah, hopefully," Keith agrees.

They say their goodnight's and Lance listens to the sound of Keith's bedroom door closing again.

He crawls out from underneath Keith's bed, giving him his best glare from his spot on the floor.

"Really?" He asks, deadpan. "Your first instinct was to shove me off of your bed?"

"I'm sorry!" Keith whispers-shouts, his voice cracking. "I panicked!"

Lance crawls back into the bed and Keith scoots over to make room for him, his face nothing but apologetic.

Lance props himself back on his pillow, looking contemplative. "Hm. I suppose I _could_ forgive you."

" _If_?" Keith asks.

"If you make it up to me," Lance tells him with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

Keith smirks, breathing out a chuckle. "You're ridiculous," he repeats, and then they're leaning back in together.

 

* * *

 

Morning seems to come earlier than it usually does, which _might_ have something to do with the fact that he and Keith had been up until the early vargas of the night.

Whatever. It had _totally_ been worth how tired Lance feels right now.

He's playing with the goo on his plate absentmindedly when he hears Pidge let out an inhuman screech.

"Jesus Christ, Pidge," he says.

"Hey, language," Shiro scolds him, "But, also, _Jesus Christ_ , Pidge."

"Sorry, sorry," Pidge apologizes, "It's just — is that a hickey on your neck, Lance?"

Lance gapes and his hand frantically goes up to his neck, remembering all of a sudden when Keith had given it to him last night. _Shit_ , how could he have forgotten about that?

He pulls the hood of his jacket over his neck and shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, man, that was _definitely_ a hickey," Hunk says.

Lance looks over at Keith and sees that he's smirking over the rim of his mug, drinking the space equivalent of coffee. _Smug bastard_ , Lance thinks grumpily to himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lance repeats with a shrug.

"Oh, wait, was it that girl you were giving eyes to on the last planet we visited?" Hunk asks.

"What girl was that?" Keith asks, his eyebrows quirked upwards when Lance looks over at him.

"Wha—" Lance starts, indignant, and then shakes his head, "I told you, I _wasn't_ giving her eyes!"

Pidge snorts, gesturing to her own neck. "I mean, you clearly were."

Hunk chuckles at that and Pidge smirks, the two high-fiving each other. Lance really needs new best friends.

"Okay, alright, that's enough of that," Shiro, sweet, sensible Shiro, says.

"Yes, that's enough of that," Lance parrots, sending a smug smirk Pidge and Hunk's way.

He glances over at Keith again and sees that he looks equal amounts smug and jealous, which... _what_. Clearly he has to know that there wasn't any girl, and that the only person Lance has given eyes to in...a _long_ time is Keith himself.

Lance fiddles with the hood of his jacket and goes back to eating his goo. They'll talk about it later.

 

* * *

 

They're in the training room the next day, practicing hand-to-hand combat with each other, which (and Lance hates to admit this) Keith has always been slightly better at than him. It's really no surprise when, in little to no time, Keith swipes at Lance's legs with his own and Lance goes falling backwards on the mat. Keith is on him in an instant, straddling his waist and pinning his wrists back with his hands.

Lance supposes he should be frustrated at the fact that Keith defeated him, but...he looks up at the boy on top of him, with his cheeks sweaty and pink from exertion, his mess of hair contained in a small ponytail and his breathing heavy from working out and... _fuck_ , his boyfriend is _so hot_ , and he's right on top of him. Lance can't help the stupid looking grin he gets on his face as he realizes this.

Keith notices the change in his expression right away, and it causes his eyebrows to furrow. "Why do you look like that? I thought you'd be upset that I beat you," he says, his voice low and raspy.

Lance lets out a shaky breath. It's really unfair that Keith looks so insanely good _and_ his voice sounds like that at the same time.

"Let's just say," Lance starts, his own voice low, "That I'm not sure when it became more enjoyable to actually be beaten by you, but..." He trails off, his eyes raking over Keith's body in a way that's impossible for Keith to miss. "It has. It really, _really_ has."

Keith's cheeks turn brighter still, but that doesn't deter him from leaning in even more. It should be gross and uncomfortable, seeing how sweaty and hot they both are, but...it's actually, kind of the opposite. Lance isn't sure if he's ever been more attracted to Keith than he is right now, especially when his eyes catch on the way his biceps are straining from the sleeves of his tight black t-shirt.

If Keith doesn't kiss him soon he might just die on the spot.

"How are we supposed to train together if you want to lose?" Keith whispers, right against Lance's mouth, and Lance lets out an impatient noise.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, just k—"

He's interrupted by Keith's mouth slamming into his, the kiss immediately quick and messy. Lance lets out a deep hum as Keith's tongue brushes against his own, unable to touch him anywhere else since Keith is still pinning his wrists down, which...is also kind of hot. Lance feels like he's learning a lot about himself right now.

"You're really worked up," Keith tells him, letting go of Lance's wrists so that his hands are cornering Lance's head instead. Lance takes the opportunity to thread his hands in the loose hair coming out of Keith's ponytail.

"My really hot boyfriend is currently on top of me. Can you blame me?" Lance asks.

Keith shakes his head exasperatedly and then he's leaning back in, Lance sitting up slightly so he can meet him halfway. He pulls lightly on the hair at the nape of Keith's neck and feels him moan into his mouth, the noise sending a jolt through Lance's own body. He's considering moving his hips upwards because Keith's ass is literally _right there_ on his lap, but then they hear footsteps coming towards the room and Keith is immediately standing up, leaving Lance an absolute mess on the floor.

It's Shiro. He stops in the doorway when he sees them and offers a small wave.

"Oh, hey, guys. I thought I'd find you in here!" He greets them cheerfully.

"What's up?" Keith asks him, obviously trying to sound unaffected. Lance is pretty sure he's failing at it, but he can't exactly blame him. He's pretty sure if he himself tried to talk right now, he'd sound wrecked.

"We're having a group meeting in the kitchen in about five doboshes, thought you guys would like to know."

Keith smiles at him. "Yeah, we'll be there. Thanks, Shiro."

"No problem," Shiro says, and then he's gone, the door shutting behind him.

Keith spares one look at him and then snorts, stripping out of his t-shirt so he can put on a clean one.

"You should probably get changed, too. You look a mess," he tells Lance.

Lance throws his head back and groans. "I can't see the rest of the team right now."

"Oh yeah?" Keith asks as he puts on his new shirt. "And why's that?"

Lance bites his bottom lip. "You told me so yourself, I'm too...worked up."

Keith's eyes flick down to Lance's lap and then he's throwing his head back and full on cackling.

" _Keeeith_ ," Lance whines, covering his face with his hands. "This isn't funny! You caused it, you need to take care of it!"

Keith, somehow, laughs even harder at that. "Yeah, that's not happening," he says, "I can, however, stall for you while you, uh." Lance can clearly tell he's holding back his chuckles. "While you take care of that."

Lance pouts. "Not good enough," he complains, stubbornly refusing to take Keith's hand when he offers it to him to help him stand up.

Keith rolls his eyes at his childishness. "Well, it's gonna have to be. It's one thing if one of us is late, it's another if we both are."

Lance finally takes Keith's hand, grumbling that he supposes Keith has a point. Keith steps into his space and presses a deep, languid kiss to Lance's lips, Lance blinking dazedly at him once he pulls away.

"To help you with your problem," Keith tells him, as way of explanation, and then Lance can only stand and watch as Keith pulls his jacket on and walks out of the room.

Lance shuts his mouth, which he belatedly realizes he had wide open, and then lets out a deep breath. He's pretty sure that Keith is going to be the death of him.

 

* * *

 

The castle isn't exactly the best place to have a secret relationship. It seems like, with five other people excluding Lance and Keith, there's _always_  someone to look out for. It's nearly impossible to have moments that are just between the two of them, unless they're holed up in their bedrooms, and that can get boring after awhile. It's because of this that Lance starts to pay attention to everyone's sleep schedules, figuring if it's not possible to have alone time with Keith during the day, then he'll figure out how to have some with him at night.

Allura and Shiro go to bed the earliest of the group, and then Coran, and then Hunk. He's not really sure about Pidge, because he's fairly certain she just...doesn't sleep, but she still holes herself up in her room once everyone else has gone to bed for the night. Hunk, without fail, goes to the kitchen a couple of vargas after going to bed every night, for a snack and a glass of water.

But once he's back to bed, he stays there, as do all of the other members of the team. That leaves _plenty_  of time until the morning, which means he and Keith can have some much needed alone time.

Lance picks out a movie for them, fixes a big bowl of the space equivalent of popcorn (it's a little too chewy and the taste isn't exactly the same, but...still. It's the closest thing they have to popcorn up here), and decks the couch out with pillows and blankets. If he and Keith are going to have a movie night, Lance is going to make sure they do it _right_.

Keith comes to join him in the den when everything is finished, dressed in his Altean robes and his red lion slippers. Lance hasn't ever seen him actually wear them before and it has his mouth dropping open at how _cute_  he looks.

"What?" Keith asks, glaring down at his slippers. "You said if we're going to do this, we're going to do this right, so I thought...you know, I thought that included wearing pajamas."

"You look fucking adorable," Lance says, before his brain-to-mouth filter can kick in.

Keith scrunches his nose and glares at him, but his cheeks have grown significantly pinker. "Let's just watch the movie," he says, plopping down on the couch next to him. He grabs a fluffy blanket and wraps himself up in it, glancing over at the tv. "Which movie did you pick out?"

Lance uses the remote to press play, wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulders so that he can cuddle into Lance's side, which he immediately does.

"Eh, it seemed like some kind of Altean horror movie. I couldn't really understand the cover, but I guess we'll just have to see."

Keith accepts that answer easily enough, his head resting on Lance's shoulder with a soft sigh.

The movie is...well, it's pretty bad. There's no denying that. Alteans have, apparently, never heard of special effects, so most of the movie consists of strange looking aliens running away from a particularly large alien, dressed to look something like Bigfoot.

"Huh," Keith says when the monster steps onto the screen for the first time. "I wouldn't have thought that Alteans had Bigfoot."

"No wonder no one on Earth can ever find Bigfoot, he's been on Altea this entire time," Lance says, grinning when his joke earns a snort of amusement from Keith.

Halfway through the movie, Keith starts to doze off on his shoulder. Lance can't really blame him; it's late, and the movie just...isn't getting any better. Lance looks over at him, his face devoid of any worry as he sleeps. It hits Lance, suddenly, that Keith is completely at peace here, tucked into Lance's side, and it makes his heart do something awful inside of his chest. He rests his head on top of Keith's, his own eyes shutting as he breathes him in.

A part of the whole secret relationship thing is that they've never fallen asleep together, figuring it's too risky, but Lance is beginning to think that's a serious travesty. Keith is _so warm_ , and he smells so good, and it'd be so easy to just fall asleep right he—

"Paladins! What are you two still doing up?"

Keith jolts awake, jabbing his head into Lance's chin hard enough to have Lance yelping 'ow!' and rubbing at his chin. Keith whispers a 'sorry' and breaks quickly away from Lance, unfortunately taking the blanket with him.

Lance blinks sleepily at the person who had interrupted them. Coran. He must have been far enough away that he hadn't seen them cuddled together.

"Uh," Lance says, still trying to gather his thoughts together from almost falling asleep. Keith looks even worse than him, blinking every other tick. "Neither of us could sleep, so we thought we'd watch a movie together."

"Oh, I see!" Coran exclaims as he walks over to join them. "And which movie did you decide on?"

Keith yawns. "It looked something like Bigfoot?"

"Bigfoot? What is—" Coran trails off, looking at the television screen. "Oh, you mean good old Hairyleg!"

Keith's face scrunches up in confusion. "Hairyleg?" He asks, looking over at Lance who just shrugs at him. He honestly has no idea.

"You two are in luck, this happens to be one of my favorite Altean movies! It's a classic, really," Coran says, "Now scoot over, we can watch it together! Just the three of us."

Lance looks over at Keith, his heart sinking a little at the fact that another moment between them has been interrupted, but he still scoots over nonetheless. He isn't about to tell Coran no; it'd crush him.

Keith scoots over as well and then Coran is plopping down between them, successfully (even though unintentionally) separating Lance and Keith from each other.

"Huh, you even made snacks," Coran says, putting the bowl of space popcorn in his lap. "You two were really prepared."

While Coran is focused on the tv, Lance looks over his shoulders at Keith, trying to get his attention so he can give him an apologetic smile.

Instead, he's met with the sight of Pidge walking into the room, her eyebrows raising at the sight she's met with.

"Oh, cool, are you guys having a movie night?" She asks. "Do you think I could join?"

"The more the merrier," Keith grits out, even though he sounds the opposite of merry.

So, yeah, he's definitely pissed, most likely at Lance saying they _definitely_  won't be interrupted, which...is exactly what ended up happening.

Pidge crawls onto the opposite side of the couch, and then there are four of them. Keith doesn't meet Lance's eyes for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

Lance thinks he knows what the term 'in the doghouse' means now, because he's pretty sure it's exactly where he is with Keith at the moment. It's because of this that he should absolutely say no when Coran offers to take him and Hunk to a "groovy space bar" on the planet they just landed on, but...it _does_ sound like a lot of fun.

"I'm totally in," Hunk gushes, and then elbows Lance from where he's sitting next to him. "What about you? You're in too, right?"

Lance looks over at Keith, who's on the opposite side of the room and very pointedly not looking back at him. Maybe it'll be nice to have a night apart.

"Yeah, I'm in, too," Lance agrees, laughing when Hunk squeezes him into his side.

"It'll be just like before at the Garrison, when we tried to sneak out and pick up girls! Except, you know, we always got caught," Hunk rambles excitedly, "But now we won't have to worry about getting caught!"

Keith stands up abruptly, and everyone, including Lance, looks up at him. He clears his throat, undoubtedly uncomfortable with having everyone's eyes be on him. "I have to go train," he says, and then walks right out of the room.

Lance's shoulders slump. He doesn't want Keith to think that he's gonna spend his entire night flirting with every hot alien girl he sees, because that's _not_ how it's going to go. He honestly can't remember the last time he even _tried_ to flirt with someone who wasn't Keith.

"You two ready, then?" Coran asks.

Hunk stands up at the question. "Yeah, absolutely!" He says, and then looks over at Lance, who's still sitting down on the couch. "Hey, man, you alright?" He asks worriedly.

Lance blinks out of his thoughts, standing up, too. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good, it's just..." He trails off, looking down at himself. He realizes he isn't wearing his jacket and breathes a sigh of relief. "I just have to get my jacket, I'll be right back!"

Hunk and Coran accept that answer easily enough, and then Lance is practically bolting out of the room. He finds Keith just about to walk into the training room and stops him by grabbing onto his bicep. Keith turns around, his glare already in full force, but it softens slightly when he sees Lance is the one who stopped him.

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" He asks Lance quietly.

Lance removes his hand from Keith's bicep and shrugs. "I just...I wanted to make sure that it's okay with you that I go."

"You already said that you were," Keith grumbles.

Lance shakes his head. "C'mon, Keith, don't be like that. Talk to me."

Keith stares at him for a tick, the air between them tense and awkward, before he closes his eyes and lets out a breath.

"I'm sorry," he says, opening his eyes again to hesitantly look at Lance, "I don't try to be, it's just...I get jealous sometimes."

He says the words as if there's nothing he'd like to be confessing to less, and he crosses his arms over his chest, looking like the human embodiment of the word 'grumpy'.

Lance can't help it; he laughs. Keith gives him an indignant look and slaps him in the chest.

"Stop laughing, I'm being serious!" He exclaims.

"No, no, I get it," Lance says, holding up his hands, "I'm sure it must be really hard for you, what with all these girls and guys _constantly_ wanting to get with me."

Keith rolls his eyes, but his mouth twitches upwards with a hint of a smile.

"But," Lance starts, and takes Keith's hands in his own, "In all honesty, you're the only person I want to be with. It's like I don't...I don't even see anyone else, because all I care about is you."

He watches as Keith's mouth drops open slightly, and as his cheeks turn a bright shade of pink.

"I — uh, it's the same. For me, that is," he stammers.

Lance smiles happily at the words, feeling his chest fill up with something warm and pleasant. He feels like he could spend all night here, holding onto Keith's hands, staring into his eyes...

"Shouldn't you be going soon?" Keith asks, his voice lilted with amusement.

"Oh, shit," Lance says, breaking away from him. "Yes, I should, I'll...I'll see you later tonight?" He asks hopefully.

Keith nods, leaning in to kiss Lance's cheek. "You will."

Lance feels his own cheeks warm up and he has to all but force himself to walk away from Keith and over to his room to get his jacket.

 

* * *

 

Lance, admittedly, has never actually been to a bar before, but he's seen enough on tv and movies to know that the bar on this planet is nothing like the ones they have on Earth. For one, the roof of the bar is completely clear, showing off all of the stars in the clear night sky. The whole place is illuminated with all kinds of blue and silver neon lights, which helps with the whole nighttime vibe the bar has going on. Lance also hadn't been expecting how big it is, with multiple turquoise leather couches filled to the brim with various types of aliens, all of whom have colorful looking drinks in their hands.

The actual bar is less filled, which means he and Hunk find two empty stools next to each other fairly easily. Lance is only a little bit overwhelmed at how many different bottles of alcohol there are behind the bar.

"One drink each," Coran tells them with a wag of his finger, "I'm going to do some socializing, so please just...behave?"

"Absolutely! We're always on our best behavior," Lance says, offering Coran his best 'I've never done anything wrong in my life ever' smile.

Coran looks less than convinced, but he still leaves them to go socialize with some fellow aliens. Lance takes the opportunity to turn back around so he's facing the bar, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"You know," he starts, "I have no idea where to even begin when it comes to ordering drinks here."

Hunk hums in agreement. "Maybe we could just tell the bartender that if he has anything that tastes like Nunvil, we don't want it."

And fuck if that isn't the truest thing that Hunk has ever said.

The bartender walks over to them, a short, light pink alien with three eyes and multiple arms and hands. Lance supposes that helps make the whole bartending thing easier.

When he sees Lance and Hunk, his eyes light up in recognition. "I know you two!" He exclaims excitedly. "You're the blue and yellow paladins of Voltron."

Lance and Hunk share a look between themselves. They've never been recognized out in public like this before, but it certainly isn't a bad feeling.

"Uh, yeah, that's us," Lance says with a small smile. "We were actually wondering about what we should get to drink. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Oh, we have drinks named after you two! Well, after all of the paladins, but since you're the only ones here..." The bartender trails off with a shrug. "Would you two like to try them?"

So, Lance has a drink that's been named after him. He's pretty sure he can die happy now. He looks over at Hunk and sees that he seems to be thinking the same exact thing.

"We absolutely would," Hunk tells the bartender, very seriously.

The bartender smiles widely and nods before scurrying off to make their drinks.

Lance leans in so that only Hunk can hear him say, "Holy shit, we have drinks named after us."

Hunk leans in, too. "I'm pretty sure this is the most accomplished I've ever felt."

Lance nods in agreement because, yeah, pretty much.

The bartender is back in no time at all, carrying a blue and yellow drink in two of his hands. He hands the blue one to Lance and the yellow one to Hunk, telling them to enjoy before walking off again.

Lance takes in his drink. The bottom of it is blue but the rest of it is yellow and bubbly. It almost looks like how champagne would look on Earth. On top of his round glass is a star that looks like it's made out of some sort of fruit. He takes it off of the rim of his glass and pops it curiously into his mouth, letting out a hum of delight when the taste hits him.

"It tastes like pineapple," he tells Hunk delightedly.

He looks over at Hunk's own drink and sees that it has at least seven different layers, ranging from yellow, orange, red, brown, and white.

Lance nearly blanches. "Geez, what is that thing?"

Hunk shrugs. "No idea, but I'm excited to try it."

Lance can't really argue with that. He holds his glass up to Hunk's and the two cheers before taking their first sips. Hunk's is sweet and fruity, which he seems overjoyed with, and Lance's is also sweet but with a bit of a kick to it. It's not even close to the kick that the Nunvil'd had, though, so it's a win in Lance's book.

The two make small talk while they sip at their drinks, and everything's fine, up until Hunk gets a contemplative look on his face.

"What?" Lance asks nervously.

"It's nothing important, really," Hunk says, "It's just...I feel like the old Lance would've tried to hit up every girl in here already. I haven't noticed you flirting much lately."

Lance gives a noncommittal shrug. "There just haven't been a lot of cute aliens around," he lies.

Hunk tilts his head behind him and Lance's eyes follow where he's gesturing to, seeing a cute, humanoid looking alien girl with blonde hair and purple eyes.

"What about her?" Hunk asks. "She's pretty cute, right?"

"Eh, I guess. I'm feeling generous, though, so you're welcome to have her."

Hunk gives him an unimpressed look. "You know I'm a one-alien-at-a-time type of guy. Right now I'm trying to work things out with Shay."

It just seems like instinct to say, "Yeah, well, I'm with—" Keith. He's with Keith, but Hunk can't know that because their relationship is a secret. _Fuck_ , Lance can't believe he almost let that slip.

Hunk is looking at him curiously.

"You!" Lance exclaims, throwing an arm around Hunk's shoulders. "I'm with you, buddy! If I was in a relationship, which I'm not!"

"Uh, okay," Hunk says, still sounding confused, "So why don't you hit up that girl over there?"

Lance draws Hunk in. "I'm going to be completely honest with you, buddy," he says soberly, "I'm trying this new thing where I act like I'm in a relationship without the actual relationship, so that way, when I start dating someone, I'll have gotten used to limiting my flirting. It's worked like a charm so far, really."

"Really?" Hunk questions.

"Yeah, totally," Lance answers with a wave of his hand.

Hunk pats him on the back. "Whatever works best for you, buddy."

Lance quietly lets out a breath of relief. _That_ was a close one.

"Let's order more drinks!" He exclaims loudly, trying to change the subject. "Bartender!"

"Wait, Lance, Coran said only one—"

Lance huffs. "Yeah, which I'm pretty sure meant order two, because he knew we wouldn't listen when he said to order just one. Trust me, Hunk. I know what I'm doing."

 

* * *

 

 

Keith wakes up to a warm body pressing up against his back and two arms wrapping snugly around his waist. He lets out a hum of surprise and then turns around, smiling when he sees that it's Lance.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" He asks him, his voice low from sleep.

"Mhm," Lance hums, nuzzling sleepily against the back of Keith's neck, "It was fun."

Keith opens his eyes at those words and props himself up, giving Lance a suspicious squint. He had sounded like he was slurring his words.

"Are you drunk?" He asks Lance.

Lance gives him a stupid smile. "Only on you," he coos, which Keith can't help but laugh at. Yeah, definitely drunk, then.

Still, he turns around so that he's perfectly tucked into Lance's side, his head burrowing in Lance's neck and his arms wrapping around him. He takes a moment to bask in Lance's warmth, in the feeling of cuddling with his boyfriend. It's something they don't get to do very often, but it's...it's nice. More than nice, really. Keith feels like he could fall asleep any tick now.

It's because of this that he murmurs, "You should probably go back to your own room."

Lance presses a kiss to the top of his head, and Keith hates that he feels himself go warm all over at just the simple touch.

"I'll go back to my room first thing in the morning," Lance whispers, "But right now, I _really_ wanna cuddle with my boyfriend."

Keith is glad that Lance can't see him, because he flushes happily at the word. _Boyfriend_. Sometimes he still can't believe that he and Lance are together.

"Okay," he relents, his eyes already closing shut, "First thing in the morning, though."

"First thing," Lance agrees quietly, and then they're both out in a matter of doboshes, still holding on tightly to the other.

 

* * *

 

Lance can imagine that waking up to a bloodcurdling scream is never much fun, but waking up to a bloodcurdling scream while also nursing a hangover? The absolute _worst._

And, of course, as soon as the scream happens, Keith is jolting awake and shoving Lance off of his bed as if it's instinct. Lance grasps at his head and gives a pitiful groan.

They both look to see who it was that produced the scream, and neither are very surprised to see that it's Pidge. Her mouth is gaping and her eyes are _huge_ behind her rounded glasses.

"I went to Lance's room but he wasn't in there so I got worried and came here to see if Keith had seen him but what the _fuck_  were you doing in his bed, Lance?" Pidge says in one breath.

Keith gapes at her for about two ticks before turning to Lance, his expression cold. "What the _fuck_ were you doing in my bed, Lance?" He repeats.

Lance catches on immediately. Keith's playing along as if he didn't have any idea that Lance had come into his room last night.

"I don't know!" Lance exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. "I was drunk, all of the rooms looked the same!"

He stands up abruptly and flips Keith off for good measure before stepping out of the room, Pidge right beside him.

Lance looks over at her, trying to see if she bought it, but she just...bursts out into laughter.

"Oh man, I am totally telling Hunk about this!" She cries, and takes off in a run over to his room.

"Pidge, no, wait!" He calls half-heartedly after her, but doesn't make any attempt to actually stop her. He's too tired and hungover.

He makes sure that she's all the way down the hall before peaking his head back into Keith's room, seeing that he's still sitting on his bed, his hair an absolute mess on top of his head. He looks _adorable_.

"I'm sorry," Lance murmurs, "I should have went back to my room last night."

Keith shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. "It was worth it," he promises.

Lance smiles too and then walks back out into the hallway. Only a tick later he hears a scream of "Lance slept with Keith?!" from the far end of the hallway and grasps at his pounding head again. He needs some space-coffee.

 

* * *

 

A couple of weeks later, they pass by a beach planet that Allura suggests they stop at for a much needed break. Since they call for reservations at the last dobosh and need seven rooms, they're stuck staying at a crappy motel, but Allura swears it'll be worth it to be able to watch the sunset.

"Is it exceptionally nice on this planet or something?" Lance asks once they've landed. He takes in the sight of the beach around him, thinking wistfully of home and Veradero Beach.

 _Another time_ , he tells himself.

"Oh, yes, absolutely!" Allura chirps. "I've never quite seen sunsets like the ones this planet has to offer. They're just _lovely_."

Lance glances over at Keith, only to find that he's looking right back at him. He has a feeling that the same thought is running through both of their minds.

They're going to watch that sunset together, just the two of them, and it's going to be _ridiculously_ romantic.

When Lance gets to his room, he realizes that "crappy motel" is kind of an understatement. Almost all of the paint has somehow been chipped off of the walls, his bed is only half made, and his window doesn't even shut all of the way. Still, Lance thinks as he drops his night bag onto his bed, he can't help but be excited for tonight. If all goes according to plan, he and Keith are going to watch the sunset on the beach together, which is admittedly something Lance has thought about them doing before. They've never actually talked about it, but Lance has always pictured Keith going back home with him once this whole Voltron thing is over, meeting Lance's family and visiting Veradero Beach.

Realistically, he knows there's a chance that'll never happen, that they might not ever get to go back home. But even if they never make it to Veradero, at least they'll have the memory of being on this beach together. Not that this planet compares to home, far from it, but if the sunset is as nice as Allura says it is, then it should at least be an enjoyable experience.

Lance waits until he can see the sky beginning to pink from his (partially open) window to sneak out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He smirks when he sees that Keith is already waiting in the hall for him, smiling sheepishly when he sees Lance.

"You wanted to watch the sunset together too, right?" He whispers once Lance is right in front of him.

"Yeah, absolutely," Lance breathes, "Everyone else are still in their rooms so we should be able to—"

"Where are you two going?"

Lance cuts off at the sound of the third voice, turning around to see Allura in a white sundress and her hair up in a bun, clearly dressed for the hot weather of the planet.

"Uh," Lance says eloquently, "We were thinking about watching the sunset...together."

Allura claps her hands together in delight. "That sounds wonderful! We can turn it into a team bonding experience."

Lance feels Keith elbow his side and looks back in front of him, seeing that Keith is giving him a 'do something about this' type of look.

But what can Lance do? He can't tell Allura no, that they wanted it to just be the two of them, because that in _no way_ sounds platonic. Plus, it's Allura. She's the one who's always been the most devoted to Voltron's cause, and if she found out about their relationship and thought it would negatively affect the team, she'd without a doubt ask them to break up.

At least, Lance is pretty sure she would.

He takes a deep breath and then forces a smile onto his face as he says, "Yeah, that'd be great, Allura."

"Excellent, I'll round up the other team members!" She exclaims, already taking off down the hall.

Lance turns to face Keith again, expecting to be met with either anger or disappointment, only to see that he's not even there anymore. He's already stormed off to the beach without him.

 _Damn it_.

Lance hurries after him, throwing the front door of the motel open and running out of it. He immediately spots Keith, who luckily isn't too far away from him. Lance calls out for him and watches as his head whips around to look at Lance, his eyes hard and his lips turned down in a frown.

"Keith, come on, I didn't have a choice!" Lance yells out, finally catching up to him. Keith tries to walk away from him but Lance grabs onto his arm, stopping him from doing so. "Why are you so upset about this?"

"I wanted to watch the sunset together," Keith grits out, and Lance huffs in exasperation.

"Yeah, so did I," he says, "But it was either say yes to Allura or have her find out about our relationship, and—"

"Would that really be so bad?" Keith asks quietly, not meeting Lance's eyes.

Lance gapes. He hadn't been expecting that question. In fact, that was the last thing he'd been expecting. He'd always thought that he and Keith were on the same page, both perfectly okay with keeping their relationship a secret, but...maybe he'd been wrong.

"You don't like being a secret?" Lance asks.

Keith shrugs out of Lance's grasp, his arms crossing over his chest. "Why would I? All of our personal moments are constantly getting interrupted, and we don't have _any_ alone time. We can't even go on dates!"

"Hey, we still have alone time," Lance argues.

Not even a dobosh later, the others are walking onto the beach beside them.

"Right," Keith spits out.

"Keith," Lance pleads, because he doesn't want this to be where their conversation ends, but then Shiro is coming up to them with a worried expression on his face.

"You two alright?" He asks.

"I don't know, Lance," Keith says, "Are we alright?"

Lance feels like this is a trick question, and one he's probably going to get wrong. He clears his throat. "Uh, yeah?" He guesses.

Keith scoffs and wanders off to go stand by Hunk. Yeah, definitely got that wrong, then.

Lance goes to stand with Allura during the sunset, if only to watch the unadulterated delight she has on her face as the sun goes down. It's a rare sight to see, but definitely a nice one.

The sunset itself is just as lovely as Allura had claimed, though it's hard to focus on it when he knows that Keith is angry with him. Lance tries to find him once the sun has set all the way, only to find out that he's already gone back to his room.

Lance resists the urge to groan out loud since he's still around the others. He thinks he gets what Keith is saying now, about the whole 'never having any alone time' thing.

The rest of the team (excluding Keith, who is apparently in bed for the night) hang out in the lodge area of the motel for a while once its dark outside, chatting and eating snacks. Lance knows that he can't go to Keith's room until they're all in bed, so he stays up, tapping his fingers on his knees anxiously as he steals glances to the hallway where Keith's room is.

God, he hopes that Keith isn't asleep. He really needs to talk to him, to make sure that they're okay.

"Lance," he hears, and blinks out of his thoughts, focusing back on the scene in front of him.

Pidge is the only who's still up, and the one who said his name.

"Are you going to sleep? Everyone else already left," she says.

Lance stands up hastily. "Yeah, yeah, sorry, I just...have a lot on my mind, I guess."

Pidge offers him a sympathetic smile as the two walk back to their rooms together.

"I get it. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to just sit back and laugh with the others when I know that Matt is still out there, close and yet so far away."

Lance feels his shoulder slump. "I'm sorry, Pidge," he murmurs, "But there's not any doubt in my mind that we'll find him. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

Pidge smiles at him again, and in a rare show of affection, crashes into Lance with a hug. Lance is so surprised that he almost stays frozen with his hands by his sides, but then he quickly catches on and hugs her back. It reminds him of all the times he's hugged his nieces, and the thought has him holding on a little tighter. He misses them so much, and they're probably so big now...

Pidge pulls away, tells him goodnight, and then steps into her room. Lance watches the door shut with a heavy, suddenly nostalgic feeling. He makes sure to wait a few ticks before he's sneaking over to Keith's bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief when the door opens easily for him.

Not locked, then. Maybe that's a sign that Keith isn't completely pissed at him.

Lance quietly closes the door before taking in the sight in front of him. Keith is propped up on his bed with a pillow behind him, completely focused on the book that's in his lap. The only light in the room is the lamp on Keith's bedside table.

Keith doesn't look at him; just calmly flips to the next page in his book.

Lance walks over, crawling in next to him on the bed. "Hey, babe," he whispers.

Still doesn't look at him.

"Baby."

Not even a glance.

Lance throws his head back and whines. "Keith, cariño, please talk to me."

"You shouldn't be in here," Keith says, and Lance feels himself deflate a little at the words. "Someone could walk in and see us, and you wouldn't want _that_ to happen."

"I don't care," Lance says abruptly, and blinks at himself in surprise. He takes a moment to think and finds that he isn't just saying that, either; he really doesn't mind if the others find out. As long as he and Keith don't let their relationship affect the team (which they haven't so far and it's been months) then the others shouldn't have a problem with it, right? And he can't say that the thought of being openly affectionate towards Keith in front of the others is an unappealing one.

Keith finally turns around to look at him, his violet eyes questioning. "Really?"

Lance nods, a small, hopeful smile forming on his lips. "Yeah, really. I thought about what you said, and...I don't care anymore. I mean...I don't think they'd make us break up if they knew it would make us unhappy. Right?"

Keith shrugs slightly. "There's no way to know for sure unless we go ahead and do it."

"Right," Lance says, despite the fact that breaking up with Keith makes him feel like he can't breathe, a little. He decides to rid the thought from his mind, resting his chin on Keith's shoulder and giving him his most charming smile. "So you're not mad at me anymore?"

Keith looks over at him and snorts. "As long as you really mean what you're saying."

"I do," Lance promises, "I'd be lucky to have the others know that I have a boyfriend as great as you."

He hadn't meant his words as a line, was just speaking honestly, but Keith still blushes something awful and hurries to turn his lamp off so that Lance can't see. Lance laughs when he realizes this and Keith smacks lightly at his chest, burying his head in Lance's neck.

"Shut up," he mumbles.

Lance smirks. "Make me."

He can make out Keith's answering smirk from the moonlight shining in from his window, and then he's being otherwise occupied by Keith's lips on his.

Lance hums happily, threading his hand in Keith's hair as Keith moves so that he's positioned in Lance's lap. He realizes, belatedly, that it's been awhile since they've done this, seeing as how they've both been trying to lay low lately. It feels really good to just be able to kiss his boyfriend.

Keith pulls away a little while later for air, but he keeps his forehead pressed against Lance's, his eyes still closed. It hits Lance, as it has many, many times before, just how beautiful Keith is, and the fact that Lance gets to call him his boyfriend is...something that Lance will never be able to get over.

"I'm still kinda upset we didn't get to watch the sunset together," Keith confesses. He moves so that he's out of Lance's lap, resting his head on Lance's chest instead. Lance wraps his arms around him and delights in the pleased hum Keith lets out in response.

"I'm upset, too," Lance agrees quietly, thoughts of his family and Veradero Beach coming back to his mind. "I was thinking...if we never get to go to Veradero together, at least we'd have the memories on this beach here, but...that was kind of a bust."

Keith props himself up on his arm, his eyes wide as he takes in what Lance just said. Lance looks up at him, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest at the fact that he pretty much just confessed to Keith that he thinks about going home with him.

"You'd...you'd want me to go home with you?" Keith breathes out.

Lance flushes, not meeting Keith's eyes. "I — I mean, yeah. My family would _love_ you, and they already know about the whole bi thing, so that wouldn't be a problem, and...Veradero is really beautiful in the summer, I think you'd like it, oh, and my mom's garlic knots! Those are good too, you'd have to try them."

He realizes he's rambling and cuts off abruptly, his cheeks still warm from everything he's just admitted. He cautiously looks up at Keith and sees that he's smiling widely at him, his eyes shining in disbelief.

"I'd love to go back home with you," Keith murmurs, cupping Lance's face in his hand. "When all of this is over."

Lance smiles, too, his heart soaring hopefully in his chest. "Really?"

"Really," Keith confirms softly, and then he's leaning back in again, kissing Lance sweet and slow.

Lance has to break away shortly afterwards because he's smiling too wide. When he opens his eyes to look up Keith, he sees that Keith has a curious expression on his face.

"Hey, the others are probably asleep, right?" He asks.

Lance blinks, wondering where this train of thought is heading. "Uh, yeah, probably."

Keith smiles and then he's standing up from the bed, stripping of his shirt as he goes. Lance watches the scene in disbelief, his mouth dropping open.

"Not that I'm complaining, because I'm _definitely_ not, but what exactly is going on here..."

"You said you wanted to make memories on this beach?" Keith asks, digging his swim trunks out of his night bag. "Well, we still can. Everyone's asleep and I doubt anyone is on the beach at this varga."

Lance's mouth stays open. He definitely can't ever say that Keith isn't full of surprises. "Wait, really?"

Keith shrugs. "Yeah, why not? You can go to your room to get changed and I'll meet you there. I mean, as long as you're not afraid of getting caught."

Lance splutters and stands up quickly from Keith's bed. "Me? Afraid? Honestly, Keith, have you met me?"

"Go to your room then," Keith says with a snort, "I have to get changed."

"Hmm," Lance hums, giving Keith his best smirk. "I don't know. Maybe I should stay here, then."

Keith gives him an unimpressed look, his swimming trunks pointedly still in his hand.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Lance huffs, and walks back to his room.

 

* * *

 

It's one of the only times they manage to not get caught. Lance is certain that he'll never be able to forget how Keith had looked while swimming in the ocean, his hair wet and the moonlight shining on him. They'd gotten into a splash war, reconciled by making out, and then gone back to their rooms soaking wet.

It's easily one of Lance's favorite memories since he's been up here in space.

 

* * *

 

Once their short-lived break is over, it's right back to diplomacy. Allura suggests to Coran that they stop at a planet in a nearby solar system, claiming that the residents on this planet could be valuable allies to have against the Galra.

They're called the Katori. Allura had given them all a short breakdown beforehand, letting them know that the Katori are experts on body language and reading people's emotions.

"What this means," Allura had said, "Is that even if you are bored out of your minds, _please_ do not show it. This is a very important potential alliance for us."

Everyone had nodded in agreement, figuring it wouldn't be a problem, but they're on varga two of sitting there and listening to Allura and the Katori talk, and...well, Lance kind of feels like he's dying inside.

His eyes instinctively seek out Keith, who's sat in the seat across from him. He's dressed in a suit, as they all are, and Allura had done his hair up in a bun. He looks...really good. Lance wants to get back to the castle so he can appreciate just how good he looks, but he tries not to convey that on his face.

He doesn't think Allura would be too happy if the aliens they're trying to form an alliance with figured out that Lance is thinking about making out with his boyfriend.

Keith looks up to meet his eyes and flushes softly when he sees that Lance's eyes are already on him. Lance gives him a small smile and Keith smiles back, his eyes fluttering down to the table in front of him.

God, he's cute.

"Oh," one of the Katori says, and Lance looks over at her curiously. She's sat at the head of the table, opposite from where Allura is sitting at the other head, and is clearly the leader of their people. Even if the Katori all look fairly similar to each other, with humanoid features, light blue skin and silvery hair, she's the only one wearing official-like robes.

"Is something the matter?" Allura asks, her blue eyes going wide with worry.

"Oh, no, not at all," the leader says, her lips moving into a smile as she looks between Lance and Keith, "I simply didn't realize that two of your paladins were in a relationship, that's all."

Lance gapes as Keith blanches.

"We're _what_ now?" Lance asks, ignoring the look that Shiro gives him to be more polite.

The leader's kind smile is unfaltering. "Well, as I'm sure you know, our people are experts on body language. You two, just now, gave off the feeling of two people who care about each other deeply, and who are very comfortable around the other. I can assure you, it's not a problem with me, or any of my people, so you do not have to deny it."

Lance looks over at Keith again. He's looking right back at him, and Lance doesn't even have to be an expert on emotions and body language to know what he's thinking. _Now_ , now is the time to tell everyone, we don't have to deny it anymore...

Lance is about to tell the leader that she's right, but Allura speaks before he can.

"I can assure you, none of our paladins are in a relationship. That would be incredibly unprofessional," she says, "I'm sure the closeness you're sensing is nothing but a close friendship."

Lance feels himself deflate. _Incredibly unprofessional_. All of his fears come back tenfold, of him and Keith telling the others and all of them forcing them to break up. He _can't_ lose Keith.

"Isn't that right, guys?" Shiro asks, breaking Lance out of his thoughts.

It feels like everyone is looking at him, all their gazes questioning except for Keith's, who looks hopeful.

Lance looks away from him. He can't look at him as he says what he's about to say; not without breaking his own heart.

"Yeah, Allura's right," he says softly, "Me and Keith are friends. I mean, imagine us together, I don't think we'd _ever_ work ou—"

"I'm sure everyone gets your point," Keith interjects. Lance works up the nerve to look at him and sees that he doesn't look upset, like Lance had been expecting. Instead, he looks like he's silently fuming, the calm before the storm.

Lance just _knows_ that he's in for it when they get back to the castle.

"Although you're right," Keith adds, "We _would_ never work together."

The bluntness of the words has Lance's breath hitching in his throat and he abruptly looks away from Keith, instead focusing on the table in front of him.

"I'm...sorry," the Katori leader says. She sounds hesitant, as if she's suddenly unsure of all of the emotions in the room. "I didn't mean to pry, or to presume things that are untrue."

"It is quite alright," Allura assures. "Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we?"

They start their conversation back up again, and this time, Lance doesn't have to worry about looking like he doesn't want to be here. He'd _much_ rather be here than back on the castle.

 

* * *

 

Just as Lance expected, Keith comes storming into Blue's hangar before Lance is even all of the way out of his lion.

"Keith," he says, trying to tread lightly, "I understand that you're upset, I'd be upset too, but just—"

"I thought you didn't mind if the others found out," Keith interrupts. He's standing right in front of Lance, his violet eyes a mixture of hurt and anger. "That I was such a great boyfriend that you wanted the others to know."

Lance winces at having his own words thrown bitterly back at him. It's clear that Keith thinks he was lying when he told him that.

"I know what I said, Keith, and I _meant_ that, it's just..." He trails off, letting out a frustrated noise. "As soon as I was getting ready to come out and say something to the others, Allura said it would be unprofessional for us to be together. And I don't...she's not _wrong_."

He watches as Keith's eyes go wide, his mouth dropping open. "So you don't want to be together anymore?"

Lance splutters, wondering how they could've miscommunicated that badly. " _No_ , no, that's not what I'm saying at all. _Of course_ I still want to be with you." He reaches out in front of him, taking Keith's hands and holding them in his own. He almost breathes a sigh of relief when Keith doesn't try to move out of the touch. "I want you," Lance says earnestly, "More than anything."

The anger seems to flow out of Keith's face at the words, instead being replaced by sadness. He shakes his head, looking down at their joined hands.

"I want you, too," he whispers, "But this secret relationship thing? It's not working for me. I feel like...like you're _ashamed_ of me or something."

"I'm not," Lance protests immediately, "I would _never_ be ashamed of you. It's just that I genuinely feel like the others are going to make us break up if we tell them about us, and I...I can't lose you."

They're standing so close together that Lance feels more than hears the breath that Keith lets out at the words.

"I don't want to lose you either, Lance. But there's no way of knowing that the team will make us break up unless we come forth and _tell_ them."

He can feel Keith's eyes searching his face, waiting for Lance to respond, and when he doesn't, he sighs and moves his hands out of Lance's.

"I think," Keith starts, staring unseeingly down at the ground, "I think I need some time. To think things through."

"No," Lance says, unable to believe what he's hearing. "No, Keith, please, we can work this out—"

"Just some space," Keith promises, a small, sad smile on his lips. "For a little bit. I think it'll be good for the both of us."

Lance doesn't know what to say, what to do to get Keith to stay. It's clear that he's already made up his mind, so Lance just shrugs, trying to come across as unaffected.

"If that's what you want," he says, the words coming off as clipped to his own ears.

Keith frowns, and Lance can understand what he's trying to say without him actually having to say it.

It's not. It's not what he wants.

Still, he doesn't respond, and Lance can only watch as he walks out of Blue's hangar, leaving Lance by himself.

He stands there for a tick, unsure of what to do with himself, before walking back inside of Blue. She must be able to sense how upset he is because she immediately gives off a sense of comfort, reminding Lance of being hugged by his mom.

"Thanks, Blue," he whispers, and curls up in his pilot's seat, finally giving in to the tears that have been threatening to spill for a while now.

 

* * *

 

Lance is pretty sure it's actual torture seeing Keith around the castle and not being able to talk to him, or kiss him, or touch him. And the worst part of it all? Is that Keith himself seems entirely unaffected. Yes, Lance knows he shouldn't actively be wanting Keith to be upset, but...still.

Lance himself isn't holding up the greatest. He'd gotten used to sneaking into Keith's room and either cuddling or making out, sometimes both, so now it's hard to sleep without seeing Keith first. He just... _misses_ him, and the fact that he doesn't know if Keith misses him too makes Lance feel even worse about the whole thing.

He knows that they're technically not broken up, that they're just taking a "break". That doesn't mean that Keith isn't taking this time to realize that he likes being without Lance more than he likes being with him.

Plus, apparently it's pretty noticeable that they're not talking to each other. Lance is in his bedroom, trying to work up the energy to do his skincare routine before he goes to bed, when there's a knock on his door.

He sits up, his heart beating hopefully in his chest. Maybe it's Keith. Maybe he's taken enough time and wants to get back together...

He tells the person to come in, and feels the hope flow right back out of him when Shiro is the one to walk into his room.

Figures.

"Hey, Shiro," Lance greets, trying his best to seem cheerful. "What's up?"

Shiro squints his eyes, as if he's assessing him, before sitting down next to him. "I'm worried about you," he says, and Lance is pretty sure he actually starts to sweat from his own worry. "You've been really distant lately. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Lance lies, and the words sound unconvincing to his own ears. "Or...I will be fine. I don't know. I'm sorry."

Shiro's eyebrows furrow. "You don't have to apologize to me. It's just...I've noticed that Keith has been acting the same way, and that you two don't really talk anymore. Did something happen between you guys?"

Lance's eyes trail down to stare at his hands in his lap. He doesn't know what to say. Shiro has probably already talked to Keith, considering they're so close they're practically family, and Keith might've already told him something.

Or, realistically, Keith didn't tell him shit and that's why he came to Lance.

"We...had a disagreement," Lance says, which technically isn't a lie. "I guess it was pretty bad. Neither of us meant for it to come in the way of the team."

Shiro is quiet for a moment, clearly trying to think his next words through carefully. "I obviously don't know what happened between you two, but I think it'd be in both of your best interests and the team's to repair your friendship."

Friendship. Lance swallows thickly at the word, feeling as if he's just swallowed lead.

"Right," he says, "I'll...talk to him."

Shiro doesn't look like he's even a little bit convinced, which Lance can't exactly blame him for, but he still stands up from Lance's bed with a small smile.

"Uh, Shiro?" Lance asks hesitantly before he can leave.

Shiro turns around to face him, his expression open and curious.

"Do you think, uh, do you think that the team should always come before our own personal interests?"

"Yes," Shiro says, right away without a flicker of doubt.

Lance slumps back against his bed. It feels like he can't breathe, all of a sudden, even though he'd been expecting that answer. It still hurt to hear Shiro say it out loud.

"Right," he repeats, sounding slightly choked up. Suddenly he wants nothing more than to be left alone. "If you don't mind, I have to put my face mask on," he tells Shiro pointedly.

Shiro looks equal amounts confused and concerned, but he doesn't loiter. He tells Lance goodnight and then walks out of his door.

Lance crumbles almost as soon as he's gone, burying his head in his arms. He doesn't know why everything feels so _hard_.

 

* * *

 

 

Apparently Lance and Keith take too long to reconcile on their own time, so Shiro decides to take matters into his own hands.

The next planet they stop by has the climate and terrain of a rainforest. This prompts Allura to suggest that Lance be the one to check it out with Blue, since she does the best with water out of all of the other lions.

"Oh, yes, I am _so_ down," Lance agrees enthusiastically, "Will the others ride with me?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Allura tells him, "If anything, you'll only need one other paladin to ride with you."

Lance's first thought is Hunk, thinking of how well they worked together on the underwater planet, but Shiro speaks before he can.

"Keith, you go ahead," he says.

Lance and Keith both give him matching shocked looks, exclaiming "what?!" at the same time.

"It'll be good for you two," Shiro promises.

"And why is that?" Keith asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shiro shrugs. "You two could clearly use this mission as a bonding opportunity."

Lance holds back his comment that they've bonded _plenty_ in the past few months, instead saying, "Shiro, I really don't know if this is a good idea."

"Trust me," Shiro says, "I have complete faith in you two. Now go talk to Allura so she can give you a debriefing before you leave."

Shiro is using his leader-voice, so neither Keith nor Lance even try to argue with him. They meet up with Allura, who confesses she doesn't know much about the species that inhabits the planet.

"I remember them to be quite a friendly species, but that _was_ over ten thousand years ago. There is a possibility that might have changed since then," Allura claims sheepishly, "They're also great at camouflaging themselves, so constantly be on the lookout when you're on the ground. Any questions?"

Lance and Keith both look over at each other before looking away again, shaking their heads simultaneously.

"Uh, okay," Allura says, clearly sensing the awkwardness in the room. "Good luck, paladins. I'm sure you'll be alright, but if anything goes wrong, just contact us and we'll be right there."

They both say that they will before they're walking to Blue's hangar together, trapped in silence. It makes Lance want to scream at how _wrong_ it is, but he also doesn't know what to say or if Keith even wants him to say anything.

So he stays quiet.

They walk into Blue together, and Lance hears Keith gasp softly as soon as they're inside of her.

"What?" Lance asks, eyes raking over him to make sure that he's okay.

"You didn't feel that?" Keith questions.

Lance blinks. "Uh. No...feel what, exactly?"

"It was like...a feeling of animosity. I don't think Blue likes me very much," Keith says quietly, standing so that he's taking up as little space as possible.

Lance isn't actually too surprised by Keith's words. Blue is the only one who he's been able to vent about Keith to, plus she was there for the breakdown he had when Keith first told him he needed space. It makes sense that she'd be feeling a little less than friendly towards Keith at the moment.

"Sorry, I just...I've been kind of upset lately, and I think she blames you," Lance admits. He sits down in his pilot's seat, putting his hands out in front of him. "It's okay, girl," he tells her, "Keith comes in peace."

Keith moves so that he's standing on his right side, and Lance grins up at him, saying, "Get it? Because you're part Galr—"

"You've been upset lately?" Keith asks, ignoring Lance's question. "Because of me?"

Lance sighs, shifting Blue into gear. "Now's not the time for chitchat, Keith. We need to focus on the mission at hand."

Keith shakes his head. "Sorry for caring," he murmurs under his breath.

Lance doesn't respond, just focuses straight ahead of him as he flies onto the planet, thick raindrops immediately hitting his windshield. He watches interestedly as Blue seems to absorb the water so that he can still easily see out of it. _Nice_.

It's just about impossible to make out the aliens from inside of the lion, what with the whole camouflaging and rain thing, so Lance decides to land Blue. He's a little apprehensive about walking around what looks like miles and miles of forest, looking for a species of alien who might not even be friendly, but...he figures he'll take his chances.

The two of them walk around the planet for what must be half a varga, in complete silence as they look for its inhabitants, before Lance stops walking with a noisy sigh.

"So are we just not going to talk at all then?" He asks.

Keith turns around to face him, his eyes narrowing at the question. " _You're_ the one who said we need to focus on the mission and not chitchat."

"Well, then, let's talk about the mission," Lance suggests, "How do you think it's going so far?"

"I'm not doing this, Lance," Keith says, sounding resigned, "It's pretty clear that you're avoiding talking about yourself because you're upset and you don't want me to know it."

"Oh, really?" Lance asks angrily. "Is that _pretty clear_ to you?"

Keith lets out a sigh. "Look, you were right, okay? We can talk about all of this stuff when we get back to the castle later. Right now we should just focus on the mission."

"What is there even to focus on?" Lance asks with a humorless laugh. "I'm starting to think that the others put us on a deserted planet just so we could get our shit together."

"You know they wouldn't do that," Keith argues. "Let's just...keep walking."

Lance bites back his comment of "who made you leader", instead opting on following along with him. When another half varga passes with no sign of the aliens, Lance turns on his com, telling the others that it's looking like this mission might turn out to be a bust.

"Keith and I have looked around for an entire varga and by now it feels like we're just walking in circles," Lance tells the others, standing off to the side as Keith continues to look around.

"Have you been looking carefully enough?" Shiro asks. "Allura says they're _really_ good at hiding."

"I mean, I _think_ so," Lance says with a small shrug.

"Although," Pidge intercepts, "If they're hiding so carefully that you've spent a varga unable to find them, then that might be a sign that they're uncomfortable with your presence. Maybe you two should—"

Lance doesn't get to hear what else she has to say, because he's being tackled to the ground. He lets out a shout of surprise and goes immediately for his bayard, before seeing that it's Keith on top of him.

"Keith, what are you—" he starts, but cuts off when Keith rolls off of him, lying on his back and clutching at his side with a groan.

Lance looks in front of him. Short, stubby looking green aliens, the same exact color of the plants around them, are standing there, guns equipped in their thin fingers.

Lance looks back over at Keith. He can see now that the aliens had been about to shoot Lance, who had been too distracted talking to the others to realize it. Keith had jumped in the way to take the shot for him.

Red hot anger starts to boil all throughout his body as he redirects his attention to the aliens, yelling at the top of his lungs, "What the _fuck_!"

He delights in the way that the aliens take a step back from him, their eyes wide.

"We were going to help you, to form an alliance with you to fight against the Galra, and _this_ is how you thank us?"

Lance has honestly never yelled like this before. He barely recognizes the booming sound of his own voice, but it seems to work in intimidating the aliens, because they flitter off into the forest before Lance can utter another word.

With the aliens gone, Lance provides his undivided attention to Keith, bending down on his knees in front of him. His heart plummets when he sees that his eyes are closed, and he can't tell if Keith is breathing or not.

"Keith? Come on, baby, please, open your eyes for me," he begs desperately.

Keith's eyes flutter open as he wheezes in a breath, and Lance breathes a sight of relief, resting his head on Keith's chest.

"Please don't scare me like that," he whispers, before turning his com on again. "Keith's down, guys. I don't know if it's because we startled the aliens or if they're just unfriendly, but they shot at us. We're going to need backup."

He means to turn his com back off, but then Keith is letting out a pained noise, and Lance's focus quickly shifts entirely over to him.

"Keith, hey, stay with me," he pleads, his voice teary. "I told you once that I can't lose you, and I...I meant that."

Keith's eyes squeeze shut in pain as his hand grasps at where he'd been shot, trying to keep the blood inside of him. "Hurts," he chokes out.

Lance places his own hand on top of his. "I'm sure," he says apologetically, "But, hey, here's some motivation for you. When we get back, we can tell the others. As _soon_ as you're better."

Keith smiles hazily. "You said that last time."

Lance shakes his head, squeezing Keith's hand as he stares at him with something fierce in his eyes. "I promise you, I mean it this time."

He realizes that if Keith doesn't make it through this, the others will never be able to see them together as a couple, to tease them when they're being too mushy and obnoxious. The thought brings tears to his eyes, and he blinks them away quickly.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes.

He's met with a confused look from Keith, who breathes out, "For what?"

"Where...where do I even begin?" Lance asks, shaking his head with a humorless laugh.

He's cut off by Keith's hand squeezing lightly at his, and the simple touch has Lance's breath hitching in his throat.

"You don't have to apologize," Keith whispers, sounding as if it's painful for him to speak any louder than that, "You were...a good boyfriend."

"I _am_ one," Lance corrects, "I still am, and you...you still are."

Keith's eyes flutter shut, his forehead scrunching in pain. "Lance, I don't know how much longer I have until..."

" _No_ ," Lance tells him, not letting him finish that train of thought. "The others will be here soon, okay? You just have to hold on for me."

He can hear Keith's breathing going faint, and it terrifies him, because he doesn't know what to do. Once again he doesn't know how to convince Keith to stay with him.

"Keith?" He asks, his heart picking up in his chest when Keith doesn't respond. " _Keith_."

He's met with silence, and it's enough to have him ripping his helmet off, setting it quickly on the ground beside him. He slips Keith's helmet up just enough so that his mouth is uncovered and then presses his lips to his, grasping his cheek in his hand as he does so.

Lance feels a huff of breath against his mouth and pulls away, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees that Keith's eyes are open.

"You kissed me," he says, sounding surprised.

Lance chuckles softly. "I didn't know how else to get you to stay," he admits quietly. "I'll ask the others when they'll be here, it shouldn't be too long now."

He places his helmet back on his head, saying, "Hey, guys, how much longer? Keith's really not doing well."

"Two doboshes," Shiro says, "At the most."

Lance breathes a sigh of relief and turns his com back off, reaching out to stroke Keith's cheek.

"Two doboshes," he repeats to him, "You just have to hold on for two doboshes. I know it's hard, but..."

Keith nods his head. Lance can hear him stubbornly drawing in breaths, and it's enough to have Lance smiling, albeit weakly.

When the castle lands on the planet beside them, Lance swoops Keith into his arms, carrying him bridal style.

Keith rests his head on Lance's shoulder, whispering, "Hey, now you're the one cradling _me_ in _your_ arms."

Lance snorts, walking briskly inside of the castle. "You better not forget it like I did."

"I won't," Keith mumbles.

Shiro meets them inside, his eyes shifting curiously between the two of them. "Allura already has a healing pod set up, so you're good to go," he tells them.

Lance nods, says, "Thanks, Shiro," and then hurries off to the healing pod.

 

* * *

 

If it was hard to sleep while he and Keith were on a break, then it's impossible to do so while Keith is in the cryopod. Lance gives up even trying to on the first night and sneaks back into the room, sitting only a few feet away from the pod.

At least Keith looks peaceful. He's in the white healing pod suit, his eyes shut in sleep. Coran had assured him that Keith would be okay, that the healing pod had seen worse, but it was still hard to get the image of Keith lying on the ground in front of him, struggling to breathe, out of his head.

He's running on maybe two vargas of sleep when Hunk walks into the room, sitting down next to him. He's the first one to join Lance since he's been in here, which is...rather strange, now that Lance thinks about it.

"How ya holding up, buddy?" Hunk asks, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Lance shrugs, staring straight ahead of him. "To be honest? I'm not sure that I am," he responds with a small, sad laugh.

Hunk gives him a squeeze and the two sit in silence for a while, staring up at Keith.

"You know," Hunk says, obviously aiming at casual, "You must really care about him."

Lance looks over at him. He's sure that his skin is probably a mess, with deep bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He almost feels bad for Hunk for having to look at him.

"What makes you say that?" He asks.

"I mean...besides the whole camping out in front of his healing pod thing?" Hunk asks with a light chuckle. "You sounded _really_ worried about him. I've never heard you like that before, Lance."

Lance shrugs. "I _was_ worried about him. I'd be worried about any of you if you were as close to death as Keith was."

"Well...yeah," Hunk agrees carefully, "But...you kind of, uh, left your com on while you were talking to him."

Lance's eyes go wide as he whips around to face him. He wants to say something, to ask how bad it was, but Hunk isn't even looking at him. He's just staring straight ahead.

"If I'm being honest, you kind of sounded like a concerned boyfriend," he admits.

Lance looks away from him, resting his head on his knees in front of him. So, Hunk knows. There's a possibility that the others might know. Maybe that's why they haven't visited him, because they're upset that he's destroyed the team's dynamic by dating Keith.

"Are you mad at me?" Lance asks quietly, his voice cracking.

He can see Hunk out of the corner of his eye turn to look at him, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

It's probably the lack of sleep that has him squeezing his eyes closed and taking a few deep breaths before he responds.

"You said...you said that you were glad none of us on the team are in a relationship with each other, that it makes things awkward, but now that Keith and I are together..." Lance trails off, feeling ashamed of himself.

"When did I say that?" Hunk asks.

"I don't know. A few months ago, I guess? It was during one of our team game nights."

Hunk's eyes go slightly wide. "You've been dating for that long?"

Lance nods sheepishly.

Hunk smiles at him, shaking his head. "Well, either way, I don't mind. It was probably just a throwaway comment. I would have _never_ said that if I knew you two were together."

Lance looks up at him hopefully. "Really?"

" _Really_ ," Hunk assures. "Is that why you were acting so weird when we went out to that bar together? _Oh_ , and why you and Keith were sleeping in the same bed afterwards? It all makes sense now!"

Lance throws his head back with a laugh. "Yeah, we, uh...we weren't exactly subtle," he confesses, "Did the others figure it out, too?"

Hunk shakes his head. "They think you have a thing for Keith but he doesn't like you back. But don't worry, man. I knew better."

"Wow, thanks, guys," Lance murmurs under his breath.

"Why were you guys acting so weird, anyway? Before Keith got hurt?" Hunk asks.

Lance looks up at the healing pod, letting out a sigh. "He wanted to tell the others about us being together, but I was afraid they'd make us break up, so we got in a fight about it. He said he wanted some space, but then he got hurt and..."

He trails off, still focused intently on Keith.

"You must really care about him," Hunk comments.

"I love him," Lance responds, before he can even think about it, and then his eyes go wide as he turns to face Hunk. "Holy shit. I _love_ him."

Hunk laughs, raising an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you haven't told each other that yet?" He asks.

"No, we haven't," Lance confirms, glaring up at the healing pod. "I just want him to get better so I can tell him. And so we can tell the others about us..."

He feels himself being pulled into a bear hug and laughs lightly, hugging Hunk back just as tight.

"I'm totally here for you if you ever need to talk or anything. This was nice," Hunk murmurs.

Lance smiles against his shoulder, suddenly reminded of how great of a best friend he has. "It was," he agrees quietly, "And thanks, Hunk. For everything."

Hunk gives him one last squeeze before walking back out of the room, leaving Lance alone with Keith once more.

Lance blinks heavily, stifling a yawn behind his hands. Maybe a nap wouldn't be the worst thing in the world...

 

* * *

 

 

When Keith stumbles out of the healing pod, it's Shiro who catches him and prevents him from falling. Keith focuses on him for maybe a tick before he's frantically looking around the room.

"Where's Lance?" He asks Shiro, his violet eyes wide in question.

"It's nice to see you, too," Shiro tells him, and Keith huffs, rolling his eyes.

"Obviously it's nice to see you, but I...I _really_ need to see Lance. Do you know where he is?"

"He just went to his room about a varga ago. He's been practically camped out in front of your healing pod ever since you got hurt, so it's nice that he's getting some res—"

"Good, I need to see him," Keith interrupts, freeing himself from Shiro's hold only to be yanked backwards again. "Shi _ro_!" He whines.

"I just told you, Lance is resting," Shiro responds, ever the voice of reason. "You can see him when he wakes up. I'm sure whatever it is can wait..."

"It can't," Keith says immediately, "It can't wait, I need to see him _right now_."

Shiro gives him a look. Keith returns it with one of his own.

"What exactly is going on between you two, anyway?" Shiro asks curiously.

"Nothing," Keith says at the same time that his cheeks start to flush.

Shiro gives him a look that clearly translates to 'like hell I'm going to believe that' and Keith gives in, letting out a resigned sigh.

"I'll tell you about it later, okay? I promise. But right now I really need to see Lance."

Shiro stares at him for a tick, clearly assessing the situation, before gently letting go of his arm.

"Yeah, alright," he agrees hesitantly, "But we _are_ talking about this later."

Keith breathes a sigh of relief, his mouth twisting up into a smile because he can _finally_ see Lance.

"Yeah, sure thing. Bye, Shiro!" He exclaims, before hurrying out of the room. He hears Shiro yell, "Take it easy, Keith!" behind him, but he's too focused on seeing Lance again to really listen to him.

He still feels a little woozy, as he usually does after being in the healing pod for an extended amount of time, so he takes longer than he would have liked to make it to Lance's room.

Once he's there, he doesn't bother knocking, as Lance never did during the many times he snuck into Keith's own room while they were dating. The sight he's met with is of Lance, asleep on his bed, curled up with his arms out in front of him. It looks like he's gotten used to holding someone in his arms while he sleeps, and the thought alone is enough to have Keith flushing happily, his heart warming in his chest.

He walks quietly over to Lance's bed and lays down next to him, wrapping one of Lance's arms around him as he does so. Lance has always been a very warm person, but the heat of his body feels especially nice after being in a cold cryopod for...however long Keith was in there.

He hears a quiet snuffle and then Lance is opening his eyes, blearily looking into Keith's own. Keith can pinpoint the moment it registers for Lance that Keith is lying next to him because he widens his eyes, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Keith, you're...you're awake," he breathes out, still sounding like he's in disbelief.

Keith smiles, nodding his head. "I am. I wanted to see you as soon as I woke up."

He watches Lance's expression soften as he murmurs, "I'm glad you did." Keith isn't sure who moves in first, but then they're hugging, holding onto each other so tight that Keith has to squeeze his eyes closed from how much he feels.

"I was so worried," Lance whispers, his warm breath hitting Keith's neck from where his head is buried there. "You can't _ever_ do that to me again. Okay?"

Keith chuckles lightly, his fingers playing with the hem of Lance's shirt. "I would risk my life for you in a tick, Lance."

Lance pulls away from their hug, his eyes wide and vulnerable as he looks at Keith. "Please don't say that," he whispers, his breath shuddering when Keith cups his cheek in his hand.

"It's true, though," Keith tells him, "Lance, I...you have to know how much you mean to me."

Lance leans into his touch, kissing Keith's palm in a way that has him flushing. "You mean just as much to me."

Keith can feel the words that he really wants to say on the tip of his tongue. He's been wanting to say them for a while now but could never decide when the right time was, but now...now seems like the perfect time.

"I know that the break we had was rough, but...it was enough to make me realize that I don't ever want to be without you," he confesses, taking a deep breath. "Lance, I love you."

He watches the shock register on Lance's face before he's being swept into a deep kiss, one that immediately has Keith humming into it, his hand reaching out to cup Lance's jaw.

"I love you, too," Lance says when he pulls back, his breathing heavy from their kiss. " _God_ , I love you."

Keith breathes out a relieved chuckle that Lance feels the same way and then pulls him back in, their lips moving against each other soft and slow. It feels _so good_ , especially after being apart for a while.

However, he _does_ still feel somewhat weak from being in the cryopod, so he breaks the kiss, instead opting to curl into Lance's side. Lance wraps his arms around him, pressing a lingering kiss to his forehead.

"Hunk knows about us," he tells Keith offhandedly. "He took it really well."

Keith smiles sleepily at the words. "I'm glad to hear it." He then remembers his conversation with Shiro and lets out a small huff. "Oh, Shiro's suspicious of us, by the way. I promised him that the two of us would have a talk when I was done talking to you."

"Uh, about that," Lance says, "Everyone's kind of suspicious of us, at the moment."

Keith looks up at him with a furrow of his brows. "And why's that?"

"I sort of...left my com on while you were struggling to stay alive, and I may have said some things to you that were less than strictly platonic."

"Oh," Keith says in surprise.

"Yeah," Lance agrees sheepishly, "But, I don't care anymore. I said that to you when we were on that planet, and I meant it. We can turn you and Shiro's talk into a group meeting and just tell everyone all at once."

Keith's eyes go slightly wide as he looks up at Lance. "Seriously?" He asks. "You're...you're sure you'd be okay with that?"

Lance smiles softly down at him, in a way that Keith knows he'll never tire of. He _loves_ when Lance looks at him like that.

"I'm more than okay with that," he promises. "And not just because everyone's suspicious of us, either, but because...well, I almost lost you twice now, with the break and then with everything that happened on the planet, and...there's so much I still want to do with you. I want to kiss you in front of the others, and cuddle you, and inevitably have Pidge scream at us to get a room."

Keith laughs, burying his head in Lance's chest so that he can't see him blush. "I want that, too," he agrees quietly.

One of Lance's hands brushes through his hair and Keith hums contentedly, his eyes fluttering shut as a fresh wave of fatigue washes over him.

"How about," Lance says, "Nap now, confess to the others later?"

Keith is pretty sure he's already half asleep. "Sounds perfect," he agrees, and then, "Love you."

He can't see it, but he can practically feel Lance's smile as he says, "Love you, too."

 

* * *

 

To Lance's surprise, Keith is the one who's the most nervous about telling the others when they call the group meeting. They're both sitting in the den together, Keith's fingers tapping anxiously on his knee. Lance slips his hand into his to stop the tapping and hears Keith let out a small sigh in response.

"Thanks," he murmurs, "I guess it just...feels like I'm telling the others I'm part Galra all over again."

Lance frowns slightly. He can imagine how scary that must have been for him, all alone, but...

He gives Keith's hand a squeeze. "You're not alone this time, okay? I'm right here with you," he promises.

Keith looks up at him with a warm smile. The others start to filter into the room so Lance removes his hand from Keith's, watching as his fingers go right back to tapping.

Everyone is watching them with curious eyes, clearly not sure what to expect (except for Hunk, who looks thrilled). Lance figures he might as well just come right out and say it so he takes Keith's hand back in his, pointedly holding it.

"Me and Keith are dating," he rushes out, and then whooshes out a breath because _there_ , he did it, it's done.

Lance can feel five pairs of eyes staring down at their joined hands in silence, and he feels like he might just combust from nerves. His hand must be sweaty in Keith's own but Keith doesn't say anything, just holds on even tighter.

Pidge is the one to break the silence. Her mouth is quirked up into a smirk. "So, Keith, you finally reciprocated Lance's feelings, huh?"

"We've been together for five months now," Keith responds bluntly.

 _That_ catches everyone's attention. Shiro exclaims, "You've _what_?!" at the same time that Coran and Allura ask Hunk and Pidge how long five months is in their time. When they tell them five phoebs, they both give them matching shocked looks.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Shiro asks, sounding disappointed.

Keith's head ducks down at the sound of his voice so Lance speaks up, saying, "We didn't want to tell you because we thought you'd make us break up."

Shiro shakes his head. "Why would you think that?"

"Allura said so herself when we were with the Katori. It could be considered unprofessional for two paladins to be together." Lance looks over at Allura, seeing that her lips are pursed in thought. "What do you think, Princess?" He asks quietly.

She's silent for another moment. "It's obviously not my place to say whether you two can or cannot be together," she decides, "But I need to know that you two truly care for each other. That this isn't some temporary thing."

Lance looks back at Keith, seeing that he's already looking right back up at him.

"I'm in this for the long haul," Lance admits, smiling at how much he means the words he's saying.

Keith's answering smile is almost blinding, and his voice is soft as he says, "Yeah, I am, too."

"Oh, god, they're already disgusting," Pidge mutters to Hunk.

"Aww, I think they're cute," Hunk disagrees. "Group hug!"

Lance's eyes go wide. "Wait, Hunk, no—"

"Too late!" Hunk exclaims and then him and Keith are being squished together as Hunk hugs them both.

Lance gives in and hugs him back, before he's being smushed by four other bodies, Pidge, Shiro, Allura, and Coran all joining in on the hug. He's pretty sure he's not breathing from how tightly he's being hugged, but then he looks over and sees that Keith's eyes are closed as he laughs happily.

Suddenly not being able to breathe feels worth it, somehow.

It hits Lance that he doesn't have to hide his relationship anymore, that the others are all accepting of him and Keith, and he closes his own eyes, feeling the safest and warmest he ever has.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading!! please leave kudos or comments if you enjoyed, it means the world to me! and check out my voltron tumblr if you want, @ lancesman.tumblr.com :)


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